The present invention relates to a method as well as a system for regulating the temperature in a datacenter. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and a system for regulating the temperature of a datacenter within an optimum temperature range based upon the thermal load predicted for the datacenter from a workload scheduler.
Electrical power consumption is one of the major expenses in maintaining datacenter locations. One source of power consumption is the need to cool of the datacenter. The machines assembled in the datacenter produce a great amount of lost heat that has to be conducted from the machines to ensure the optimum working conditions for the datacenter and to avoid damages. The power requirement to conduct the lost heat of a single machine is in the order of about 10% of the overall power consumption of the machine, while the power requirement to conduct the lost heat of an assembly of machines in a datacenter can be in the order of about 50% of the overall power consumption of the datacenter. However, it is a common and recognized need to reduce power consumption.
In the datacenter some parameters like humidity and temperature are critical for the machines assembled in the datacenter. Normally, there are devices like a thermostat that monitor the temperature and take the proper actions to switch on the cooling devices when the temperature excites a certain threshold. The optimum is to keep the temperature constant, within a small range around the optimal temperature. The cooling systems of the datacenter have to face some initial inertia to change the temperature. In a pool of machines, such workstations, tape units, printers, and string of disks, for example, if all components are activated at the same time, this will result in a temperature peak. In turn, the cooling system will react more lethargically in trying to reach the optimal temperature range again. The opposite problem occurs when a pool of machines is turned off. The cooling system will be turned off when the temperature in the datacenter falls below the threshold temperature. However, the cooling system will continue to have an effect on the room temperature due to the thermal inertia of the datacenter. A negative temperature peak below the threshold limit will be the result. This means that more heat is conducted as needed.
Furthermore, to avoid peak temperature that may harm the machines in the datacenter, the threshold limit is set to a value significantly below a critical temperature. This also results in the fact that more heat is conducted as needed, too.
US 2005/0273208 A1 discloses an electronic device cooling apparatus and a method for cooling electronic device with temperature prediction. The control unit of the apparatus disclosed may decrease a target value of temperature control of the cooling unit for cooling when a rise in temperature is predicted. The control unit may increase the target value of temperature control of the cooling unit for cooling when a drop in temperature is predicted. The target value can be adjusted to control a difference between the current temperature and the target value. The operation level of the cooling unit which is controlled in accordance with the difference can thus be controlled in advance. Another aspect of US 2005/0273208 A1 is an electronic device system. This system comprises: an electronic device; at least one cooling unit which cools the electronic device; a predicting unit which predicts a temperature of the electronic device from an operating load; and a control unit which controls the cooling unit based upon the predicted temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,493,193 discloses a method for monitoring and real-time heat load control based upon server and environmental parameters. Here it is disclosed that, as the number of jobs increase, which increases processor utilization, the power consumption rises to the point where the air inlet temperature is out of the manufacturer's specification for a short duration. In response to the temperature rise, the equipment fans change speed to bring more chilled air into the equipment, thus reducing the temperature measured at the air inlet. Because the air inlet temperature rises to a very high level, this may have an impact on reliability and uptime.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,373,268 relates to a method and a system for dynamically controlling cooling resources in a datacenter. Disclosed in the '268 patent is a method and system for dynamically controlling cooling resources in a datacenter based upon the workload of the datacenter. Accordingly, based upon the workload constraints (power consumed, latency, etc.) of the datacenter, each of a plurality of different types of cooling resources is activated in an optimal fashion. Consequently, a substantial savings in operational costs related to cooling resources is achieved. A first aspect is a method for dynamically controlling cooling resources in a datacenter. The method comprises determining a workload within the datacenter, determining an amount of heat being generated as a function of the workload and activating each of a plurality of different types of cooling resources within the datacenter in an optimal fashion based upon the amount of heat being generated.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,484,111 relates to a system and method for power on demand and workload management. The system described may also be structured such that the threshold or thresholds are set or adjusted dynamically. Dynamic thresholding may, for example, be based at least in part on present, past, and/or predicted future loading, quality of service indicators or factors, or other measures or parameters. Furthermore, while a simple utilization threshold has been described, more elaborate control may be implemented. For example, in addition to the threshold, a velocity measure of the time rate of change of utilization may be utilized as well. This may then result in a dynamically determined threshold that depends upon how fast the utilization is changing and its direction. A system is described, wherein the predicted decrease in server load is a prediction based at least in part on time of day. Furthermore, a system is described wherein a plurality of cooling fans are provided and operate under control of the power manager that controls each fan to provide cooling at the rate and location desired to maintain the computers within a predetermined temperature range. In an embodiment, a plurality of computers is disposed within a common enclosure and the system further comprising a plurality of temperature sensors and a plurality of cooling devices are also disposed within the enclosure, the plurality of temperature sensors communicating a temperature signal to a temperature control means and the control means adjusting the on/off status and operational parameters of the cooling units to extract heat according to predetermined rules.
US 2009/0132097 A1 discloses a virtual cooling infrastructure. Here, a virtual cooling infrastructure includes a demand manager having logical descriptions of a plurality of heat loads and the demand manager is configured to determine cooling load demands of the heat loads. The infrastructure also includes a capacity manager having logical descriptions of a plurality of cooling system components configured to supply cooling resources to cool the heat loads. The infrastructure further includes a service operator configured to map the cooling resources of the cooling system components to the cooling load demands of the heat loads. The demand manager estimates the cooling load required by the heat loads and the capacity manager allocates cooling resources to the heat loads based upon the available capacities of the cooling system components, while remaining within the capacity limitations of the cooling system components. In addition, or alternatively, the capacity manager allocates cooling resources first and the demand manager allocates heat loads based upon the allocated cooling resources. In any regard, the service operator is configured to monitor the heat loads and the cooling resource provisioning to substantially ensure that various policies are being met.
In US 2006/0259621 A1 a historical data based workload allocation is disclosed. Here, an input source may input the workload request in the form of the workload to be performed and a prediction of resource utilization in performing the requested workload, collectively referred to as the requested workload profile. Input of the requested workload profile may include, for instance, information pertaining to the number of servers required to perform the workload, the amount of time the servers will be required to operate to perform the workload, etc. Input of the prediction of resource utilization may include information pertaining to a prediction of one or more of the CPU utilization, the memory utilization, the network utilization, and the storage utilization associated with the requested workload. In addition, input of the requested workload profile may include information related to a prediction of power consumed by the datacenter in performing the requested workload. The information pertaining to the power consumption prediction may alternatively comprise information pertaining to a prediction of the amount of power consumed by the units in maintaining a server within predetermined temperature ranges. The information pertaining to the predicted resource utilization may be generated based upon knowledge of the types of workload requested and past resource utilization. In this regard, an algorithm that determines the types of workload requested and the past resource utilizations corresponding to those types of workload requests may be employed to generate the predicted resource utilization.
US 2007/0062685 A1 relates to a device and method for controlled cooling of a datacenter. The disclosed method comprises, separately controlling a cooling apparatus and a fluid supply apparatus of a device, wherein the cooling apparatus is configured to vary a temperature of a cooling fluid and wherein the fluid supply apparatus is configured to vary a volume flow rate of the cooling fluid supplied by the device.